Louis-Alexandre Berthier

General and politician of the First French Empire (1753–1815)

For the American privateer named after him, see Prince de Neufchatel.

Marshal of the Empire

Louis-Alexandre Berthier

Prince of Neuchâtel and Valangin, Prince of Wagram

Portrait by Jacques Pajou, 1808

Minister of War
In office
11 November 1799 – 2 April 1800
Preceded by| Edmond Louis Alexis Dubois-Crancé
Succeeded by| Lazare Carnot
In office
8 October 1800 – 19 August 1807
Preceded by| Lazare Carnot
Succeeded by| Henri Guillaume Clarke, Duke of Feltre
Sovereign Prince of Neuchâtel and Valangin
In office
25 February 1806 – 3 June 1814
Preceded by| Frederick William III of Prussia
Succeeded by| Frederick William III of Prussia
Personal details
Born| (1753-11-20)20 November 1753
Versailles, Kingdom of France
Died| 1 June 1815(1815-06-01) (aged 61)
Bamberg, Kingdom of Bavaria
Relations| Jean-Baptiste Berthier (father)
César Berthier (brother)
Napoléon Alexandre Berthier (son)
Awards| Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour
Commander of the Order of Saint Louis
Vice-Grand Constable of France
Signature|
Military service
Allegiance|  Kingdom of France
Kingdom of France
First French Republic
First French Empire
Kingdom of France
Branch/service| Army
Years of service| 1764–1815
Rank| Marshal of the Empire
Battles/wars| American Revolutionary War
French Revolutionary Wars
Napoleonic Wars

Louis-Alexandre Berthier (French pronunciation: [lwi alɛksɑ̃dʁ bɛʁtje]; 20 November 1753 – 1 June 1815), Prince of Neuchâtel and Valangin, Prince of Wagram, was a French military commander who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was twice Minister of War of France and was made a Marshal of the Empire in 1804. Berthier served as chief of staff to Napoleon Bonaparte from his first Italian campaign in 1796 until his first abdication in 1814. The operational efficiency of the Grande Armée owed much to his considerable administrative and organizational skills.

Born into a military family, Berthier served in the American Revolutionary War and survived suspicion of monarchism during the Reign of Terror before a rapid rise in the ranks of the French Revolutionary Army. Although a key supporter of the coup against the Directory that gave Napoleon supreme power, and present for his greatest victories, Berthier strongly opposed the progressive stretching of lines of communication during the Russian campaign. Allowed to retire by the restored Bourbon regime, he died by either suicide or murder shortly before the Battle of Waterloo. Berthier's reputation as a superb operational organiser remains strong among current historians.

## Early life

[edit]

Berthier's parents: Jean-Baptiste Berthier and Marie Françoise L'Huillier de La Serre

Berthier was born in Versailles on 20 November 1753.[1] He was the eldest of five surviving children of Lieutenant-Colonel Jean-Baptiste Berthier (1721–1804), an officer in the Corps of Topographical Engineers, and his first wife (married in 1746) Marie Françoise L'Huillier de La Serre.[2] Three of his brothers also served in the French Army, with two, César (1765–1819) and Victor-Léopold (1770–1807), becoming generals during the Napoleonic Wars.[2][3]

## Early career

[edit]

As a boy, Berthier was instructed in the military art by his father, an officer of the Corps de genie (Engineer Corps). In 1764 he was admitted to the Royal Engineering School of Mézières, as a second lieutenant, graduating as a topographical engineer two years later, at the age of 12.[2] In March 1772, Berthier entered the army as a lieutenant in the Flanders Legion.[2] He then joined the Prince of Lambesc's Lorraine Dragoon Regiment in August 1776, and was promoted to captain in June 1777.[2]

Berthier first saw action during the American Revolutionary War, in which he served from 1780 to 1783 as a staff officer under Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Count of Rochambeau.[2] On his return, having attained the rank of colonel, he was employed in various staff posts and was made a Knight of Saint Louis in 1788.[2] In July 1789, at the start of the French Revolution, Berthier was made a lieutenant-colonel as well as chief of staff of the Versailles National Guard, and in this role protected King Louis XVI's family from popular violence.[2] In 1791, he aided in the emigration of the king's aunts Victoire and Adélaïde.[1][2]

## French Revolutionary Wars

[edit]

In 1792, Berthier was promoted to maréchal de camp and posted to the Army of the North.[2] He was appointed chief of staff to Marshal Nicolas Luckner, and bore a distinguished part in the Argonne campaign of Generals Dumouriez and Kellermann. He served with great credit in the War in the Vendée of 1793–1795. Berthier was made a brigade general in March 1795 and a general of division three months later.[2]

Berthier first met Napoleon Bonaparte in March 1796, and was at once made chief of staff to the Army of Italy, which Bonaparte had recently been appointed to command.[2] He served in the Italian campaign of 1796, distinguishing himself at the Battle of Lodi.[2] In January 1797 he played an important role in the Battle of Rivoli, relieving General Joubert when the latter was attacked by the Austrian general Jozsef Alvinczi. His power of work, accuracy and quick comprehension, combined with his long and varied experience and his complete mastery of detail, made Berthier the ideal chief of staff. In this capacity, Berthier was Napoleon's most valued assistant for the rest of his career.[1]

Berthier accompanied Napoleon throughout the campaign of 1797, and was left in charge of the army after the Treaty of Campo Formio. He was in this post in 1798 when he entered Italy, invaded the Vatican, organized the Roman Republic, and took Pope Pius VI prisoner. Berthier supervised the Pope’s relocation to Valence, where, after a tortuous journey, Pius died. The death of the Pope dealt a major blow to the Vatican's political power.

General Bonaparte and his chief of staff General Berthier at the Battle of Marengo, by Joseph Boze, 1800–1801

After this, Berthier joined his chief in Egypt, serving there until Napoleon's return. He assisted in the Coup of 18 Brumaire (9 November 1799), afterwards becoming Minister of War for a time. During the Battle of Marengo, Berthier was the nominal head of the Army of Reserve, but the first consul accompanied the army and he acted in reality, as always, as chief of staff to Napoleon.[1]

Despite serving as a staff officer, Berthier had at one point received a battlefield injury. A contemporary subordinate staff officer, Brossier, reports that at the Battle of Marengo:

> The General-in-Chief Berthier gave his orders with the precision of a consummate warrior, and at Marengo maintained the reputation that he so rightly acquired in Italy and in Egypt under the orders of Bonaparte. He himself was hit by a bullet in the arm. Two of his aides-de-camp, Dutaillis and La Borde, had their horses killed.[4]

At the close of the campaign, he was employed in civil and diplomatic business.[1] This included a mission to Spain in August 1800, which resulted in the retrocession of Louisiana to France by the Treaty of San Ildefonso on 1 October 1800, and led to the Louisiana Purchase.[citation needed]

## Napoleonic Wars

[edit]

Portrait by Andrea Appiani

In May 1804, Napoleon became emperor and at once made Berthier a Marshal of the Empire.[2] He took part in the campaigns of Austerlitz, Jena, and Friedland. Berthier was made Grand Huntsman in 1804 and Vice-Constable of the Empire in 1807.[2] In 1806, when Napoleon deposed King Frederick William III of Prussia from the Principality of Neuchâtel (now the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel), Berthier was appointed its ruler, with the title of Prince of Neuchâtel and Duke of Valangin.[5] This lasted until his abdication on 3 June 1814.[5] Berthier never visited Neuchâtel, where he was represented by a governor, although he was well acquainted with its affairs.[5]

In 1808, Berthier served in the Peninsular War, and in 1809, served in the Austrian theatre during the War of the Fifth Coalition, after which he was given the title of Prince of Wagram. He was with Napoleon in Russia in 1812, and took part in the extremely unusual council of war on whether to proceed, being one of several who advised against an advance on Moscow which Napoleon had decided on, encouraged by Joachim Murat who was blamed by many for the horse-killing pace of the march into Russia. Berthier is said to have burst into tears at the decision. He served in Germany in 1813, and France in 1814, fulfilling, until the fall of the French Empire, the functions of chief of staff of the Grande Armée.[1]

## Later life

[edit]

Berthier's estate Château de Grosbois in Val-de-Marne, France

Following Napoleon's first abdication, Berthier retired to Château de Grosbois, his 600-acre (2.4 km2) estate at Boissy-Saint-Léger, Val-de-Marne. He made peace with Louis XVIII in 1814 and accompanied the king on his solemn entry into Paris. During Napoleon's short exile on Elba, he informed Berthier of his projects. Berthier was much perplexed as to his future course and, being unwilling to commit to Napoleon, fell under the suspicion both of his old leader and of Louis XVIII.

## Death

[edit]

The Neue Residenz in Bamberg where Berthier died falling from a third floor window

On Napoleon's return to France in March 1815, Berthier withdrew to the Bavarian city of Bamberg. On 1 June 1815 he died from a fall from an upstairs window at the Neue Residenz, a 17th-century Bishop's residence.[6] The manner of his death remains uncertain because he fell from a casement window with a sill 4 ft (1.2 m) from the floor, making an accident seem unlikely.[7] According to some accounts, he was assassinated by members of a secret society, while others say he threw himself from the window, maddened at the sight of Russian troops marching to invade France. It remains unclear whether his defenestration was suicide or murder.[1]

His loss was keenly felt by Napoleon, who wished he had his former Chief of Staff at Waterloo:

> If Berthier had been there, I would not have met this misfortune.[8]

## Character assessment

[edit]

Berthier was an immensely skilled chief of staff, but he was not a great field commander. When he was in temporary command in 1809, the French army in Bavaria underwent a series of reverses. Despite the fact that his merit as a general was completely overshadowed by the genius of Napoleon, Berthier was nevertheless renowned for his excellent organising skills and being able to understand and carry out the emperor's directions to the minutest detail.[1] General Paul Thiébault wrote of him:

> No one could have better suited General Bonaparte, who wanted a man capable of relieving him of all detailed work, to understand him instantly and to foresee what he would need.[8]

## Marriage and issue

[edit]

Coat of arms of Louis-Alexandre Berthier

In 1796, Berthier fell in love with Giuseppa Carcano, marquise Visconti di Borgorato, who was to be his mistress for the duration of the First French Empire, despite the emperor's disapproval. Even when Napoleon forced him to marry a Bavarian princess, the Duchess Maria Elisabeth, in 1808, Berthier managed to keep his mistress and his wife together under the same roof, a state of affairs which infuriated the emperor.[9]

On 9 March 1808, Berthier married Elisabeth who was the only daughter of Duke Wilhelm in Bavaria and Countess Palatine Maria Anna of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld-Rappoltstein,[10] the sister of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, and a relative of the Russian emperor through the Wittelsbach line on the Bavarian side and Prussian (Mecklenburg) side of her lineage.

They had one son and two daughters :[11][12]

* Napoléon-Alexandre, 2nd Duke and 2nd Prince of Wagram (11 September 1810 – 10 February 1887), married on 29 June 1831 to Zénaïde Françoise Clary (25 November 1812 – 27 April 1884). They had two daughters, Malcy Louise Caroline Frédérique Berthier Princess of Walgram (1832-1884), Elisabeth Alexandrine Maria Berthier Princess of Wagram (1849–1932) and a son, Louis Philippe Marie Alexandre Berthier, 3rd Prince of Wagram (1836–1911)
* Caroline-Joséphine, Princess of Wagram (22 August 1812 – 1905), married on 9 October 1832 to Alphonse Napoléon, Baron d'Hautpoul (29 May 1806 – 25 April 1889)
* Marie Anne Wilhelmine Alexandrine Elisabeth, Princess of Wagram (19 February 1816 – 23 July 1878). Born shortly after her father's death. Married on 24 June 1834 to Jules Lebrun, 3rd Duke of Plaisance (19 April 1811 – 15 January 1872)

## In literature

[edit]

Berthier is mentioned and/or appears in several of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Brigadier Gerard stories, including How the Brigadier Was Tempted by the Devil (1895), and in Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace.

## In video games

[edit]

Berthier is prominently featured in the 2010 video game Napoleon: Total War, where he serves as the narrator of the campaign/story mode. He is also featured prominently in the three tutorial missions in the game, and also appears in two of the game's historical battles. The game is slightly inaccurate in Berthier's life, in that Berthier gives the narration about the Battle of Waterloo, regardless of a win or a loss, while in real life, Berthier died shortly before the battle from a fall in his home.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Chisholm 1911, p. 812.
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Gambiez, Fernand (1987). "Berthier, Louis-Alexandre, (1753–1815), prince de Neufchâtel, prince de Wagram, maréchal". Dictionnaire Napoléon. Éditions Fayard.
3. ^ Watson 1957, p. 13.
4. ^ Watson 1957, p. 92
5. ^ a b c Pedrazzini, Dominic: Louis-Alexandre Berthier in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
6. ^ Zabecki, David T. (2013). Chief of Staff, Vol. 1: The Principal Officers Behind History's Great Commanders, Napoleonic Wars to World War I. Vol. 1\. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 9781612515588.
7. ^ "BERTHIER, Louis-Alexandre". www.napoleon.org. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
8. ^ a b "Berthier, The Indispensable Marshal". www.napoleon-series.org.
9. ^ "FRANCK FAVIER: "Berthier the Marshal existed well before and without Napoleon" (November 2015)". napoleon.org.
10. ^ "PORTRAIT DE MARIE-ELISABETH, PRINCESS DE WAGRAM, NÉE DUCHESS EN BAVIÈRE (1785-1849)". Sothebys.
11. ^ Huberty, Michel; Giraud, Alain; Magdelaine, F. and B. (1985). L'Allemagne Dynastique, Tome IV Wittelsbach. France: Laballery. pp. 277, 348, 381–382. ISBN 2-901138-04-7.
12. ^ Huberty, Michel; Giraud, Alain; Magdelaine, F. and B. (1989). L'Allemagne Dynastique, Tome V. France: Laballery. pp. 532–533. ISBN 2-901138-05-5.

Attribution

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Berthier, Louis Alexandre". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 812.

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Watson, S.J. (1957), By Command of the Emperor: A Life of Marshal Berthier, London: The Bodley Head

## Further reading

[edit]

* Bukhari, Emir Napoleon's Marshals Osprey Publishing, 1979, ISBN 0-85045-305-4.
* Chandler, David Napoleon's Marshals Macmillan Pub Co, 1987, ISBN 0-02-905930-5.
* Connelly, Owen, Blundering to Glory: Napoleon's Military Campaigns SR Books, 1999, ISBN 0-8420-2780-7.
* Elting, John R. Swords around a Throne: Napoleon's Grande Armée Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1997, ISBN 0-02-909501-8.
* Haythornthwaite, Philip Napoleon's Commanders (2): c. 1809–15 Osprey Publishing, 2002, ISBN 1-84176-345-4.
* Hittle, James Donald the Military Staff: Its History and Development Military Service Publishing, 1952.
* Macdonell, A. G. Napoleon and His Marshals Prion, 1997, ISBN 1-85375-222-3.
* Pawly, Ronald Napoleon's Imperial Headquarters (1): Organization and Personnel Osprey Publishing, 2004, ISBN 1-84176-793-X.
* Pawly, Ronald Napoleon's Imperial Headquarters (2): On campaign Osprey Publishing, 2004, ISBN 1-84176-794-8.
* Watson, S.J. By Command of the Emperor: A Life of Marshal Berthier. Ken Trotman Ltd, ISBN 0-946879-46-X.

## Archive sources

[edit]

The Berthier collection is conserved in the archives of the State of Neuchâtel. It contains more than 2'000 items inventoried in 1895–1896 by Albert Dufourcq. The collection contains correspondence sent and received by the prince in connection with the general affairs of the Principality or particular affairs.

* Berthier Alexandre, Fonds: Alexandre Berthier (1789–1816). Archives de l'État de Neuchâtel.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Louis-Alexandre Berthier.

* Alex. Berthier, Relation of the Battle of Marengo
* Spencer Napoleonica Collection at Newberry Library
* Works by Alexandre Berthier at Project Gutenberg
* Works by or about Louis Alexandre Berthier at Internet Archive
* Louis-Alexandre Berthier Collection Handcolored, topographical, manuscript maps (111 of them), created by Louis-Alexandre Berthier

Political offices

Preceded by

Edmond Louis Alexis Dubois-Crancé

|  Minister of War
11 November 1799 – 2 April 1800  | Succeeded by

Lazare Carnot

Preceded by

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|  Minister of War
8 October 1800 – 19 August 1807  | Succeeded by

Henri Clarke, duc de Feltre

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Head of state: Napoleon

Secretary of State|

* Hugues-Bernard Maret
* Pierre Daru
* Hugues-Bernard Maret

Napoleon

Foreign Affairs|

* Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
* Jean-Baptiste de Nompère de Champagny
* Hugues-Bernard Maret
* Armand Augustin Louis de Caulaincourt

Interior|

* Jean-Antoine Chaptal
* Jean-Baptiste de Nompère de Champagny
* Emmanuel Crétet
* Joseph Fouché
* Jean-Pierre de Montalivet

Justice|

* Claude Ambroise Régnier
* Louis-Mathieu Molé

War|

* Louis-Alexandre Berthier
* Henri Jacques Guillaume Clarke

War Administration|

* Jean François Aimé Dejean
* Jean-Girard Lacuée
* Pierre Daru

Finance|

* Martin-Michel-Charles Gaudin

Treasury|

* François Barbé-Marbois
* Nicolas François, Count Mollien

Navy and Colonies|

Denis Decrès

Police|

* Joseph Fouché
* Anne Jean Marie René Savary

Religious affairs|

* Jean-Étienne-Marie Portalis
* Félix-Julien-Jean Bigot de Préameneu

Manufacturing and Commerce|

* Jean-Baptiste Collin de Sussy

Preceded by French Consulate • Followed by French provisional government of 1814

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French Revolution

* Causes
* Timeline
* Ancien Régime
* Revolution
* Constitutional monarchy
* Republic
* Directory
* Consulate
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* Museum

Significant civil and political events by year

1788|

* Day of the Tiles (7 Jun 1788)
* Assembly of Vizille (21 Jul 1788)

1789|

* What Is the Third Estate? (Jan 1789)
* Réveillon riots (28 Apr 1789)
* Convocation of the Estates General (5 May 1789)
* Death of the Dauphin (4 June 1789)
* National Assembly (17 Jun – 9 Jul 1790)
* Tennis Court Oath (20 Jun 1789)
* National Constituent Assembly (9 Jul – 30 Sep 1791)
* Storming of the Bastille (14 Jul 1789)
* Great Fear (20 Jul – 5 Aug 1789)
* Abolition of Feudalism (4–11 Aug 1789)
* Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (26 Aug 1789)
* Women's March on Versailles (5 Oct 1789)
* Nationalization of the Church properties (2 Nov 1789)

1790|

* Abolition of the Parlements (Feb–Jul 1790)
* Abolition of the Nobility (23 Jun 1790)
* Civil Constitution of the Clergy (12 Jul 1790)
* Fête de la Fédération (14 Jul 1790)

1791|

* Flight to Varennes (20–21 Jun 1791)
* Champ de Mars massacre (17 Jul 1791)
* Declaration of Pillnitz (27 Aug 1791)
* The Constitution of 1791 (3 Sep 1791)
* National Legislative Assembly (1 Oct 1791 – Sep 1792)

1792|

* France declares war (20 Apr 1792)
* Brunswick Manifesto (25 Jul 1792)
* Paris Commune becomes insurrectionary (Jun 1792)
* 10th of August (10 Aug 1792)
* September Massacres (Sep 1792)
* National Convention (20 Sep 1792 – 26 Oct 1795)
* First republic declared (22 Sep 1792)

1793|

* Execution of Louis XVI (21 Jan 1793)
* Revolutionary Tribunal (9 Mar 1793 – 31 May 1795)
* Reign of Terror (27 Jun 1793 – 27 Jul 1794)
* Committee of Public Safety
* Committee of General Security
* Fall of the Girondists (2 Jun 1793)
* Assassination of Marat (13 Jul 1793)
* Levée en masse (23 Aug 1793)
* The Death of Marat (painting)
* Law of Suspects (17 Sep 1793)
* Marie Antoinette is guillotined (16 Oct 1793)
* Anti-clerical laws (throughout the year)

1794|

* Danton and Desmoulins guillotined (5 Apr 1794)
* Law of 22 Prairial (10 Jun 1794)
* Thermidorian Reaction (27 Jul 1794)
* Robespierre guillotined (28 Jul 1794)
* White Terror (Fall 1794)
* Closing of the Jacobin Club (11 Nov 1794)

1795–6|

* Insurrection of 12 Germinal Year III (1 Apr 1795)
* Constitution of the Year III (22 Aug 1795)
* Directoire (1795–99)
* Council of Five Hundred
* Council of Ancients
* 13 Vendémiaire 5 Oct 1795
* Conspiracy of the Equals (May 1796)

1797|

* Coup of 18 Fructidor (4 Sep 1797)
* Second Congress of Rastatt (Dec 1797)

1798|

* Law of 22 Floréal Year VI (11 May 1798)

1799|

* Coup of 30 Prairial VII (18 Jun 1799)
* Coup of 18 Brumaire (9 Nov 1799)
* Constitution of the Year VIII (24 Dec 1799)
* Consulate

Revolutionary campaigns

1792|

* Verdun
* Thionville
* Valmy
* Royalist Revolts
* Chouannerie
* Vendée
* Dauphiné
* Lille
* Siege of Mainz
* Jemappes
* Namur [fr]

1793|

* First Coalition
* War in the Vendée
* Battle of Neerwinden
* Battle of Famars (23 May 1793)
* Expedition to Sardinia (21 Dec 1792 - 25 May 1793)
* Battle of Kaiserslautern
* Siege of Mainz
* Battle of Wattignies
* Battle of Hondschoote
* Siege of Bellegarde
* Battle of Peyrestortes (Pyrenees)
* Siege of Toulon (18 Sep – 18 Dec 1793)
* First Battle of Wissembourg (13 Oct 1793)
* Battle of Truillas (Pyrenees)
* Second Battle of Wissembourg (26–27 Dec 1793)

1794|

* Battle of Villers-en-Cauchies (24 Apr 1794)
* Second Battle of Boulou (Pyrenees) (30 Apr – 1 May 1794)
* Battle of Tourcoing (18 May 1794)
* Battle of Tournay (22 May 1794)
* Glorious First of June (1 Jun 1794)
* Battle of Fleurus (26 Jun 1794)
* Chouannerie
* Battle of Aldenhoven (2 Oct 1794)
* Siege of Luxembourg (22 Nov 1794 - 7 Jun 1795)

1795|

* Siege of Luxembourg (22 Nov 1794 - 7 Jun 1795)
* Peace of Basel

1796|

* Battle of Lonato (3–4 Aug 1796)
* Battle of Castiglione (5 Aug 1796)
* Battle of Theiningen
* Battle of Neresheim (11 Aug 1796)
* Battle of Amberg (24 Aug 1796)
* Battle of Würzburg (3 Sep 1796)
* Battle of Rovereto (4 Sep 1796)
* First Battle of Bassano (8 Sep 1796)
* Battle of Emmendingen (19 Oct 1796)
* Battle of Schliengen (26 Oct 1796)
* Second Battle of Bassano (6 Nov 1796)
* Battle of Calliano (6–7 Nov 1796)
* Battle of Arcole (15–17 Nov 1796)
* Ireland expedition (Dec 1796)

1797|

* Naval Engagement off Brittany (13 Jan 1797)
* Battle of Rivoli (14–15 Jan 1797)
* Battle of the Bay of Cádiz (25 Jan 1797)
* Treaty of Leoben (17 Apr 1797)
* Battle of Neuwied (18 Apr 1797)
* Treaty of Campo Formio (17 Oct 1797)

1798|

* French invasion of Switzerland (28 January – 17 May 1798)
* French Invasion of Egypt (1798–1801)
* Irish Rebellion of 1798 (23 May – 23 Sep 1798)
* Quasi-War (1798–1800)
* Peasants' War (12 Oct – 5 Dec 1798)

1799|

* Second Coalition (1798–1802)
* Siege of Acre (20 Mar – 21 May 1799)
* Battle of Ostrach (20–21 Mar 1799)
* Battle of Stockach (25 Mar 1799)
* Battle of Magnano (5 Apr 1799)
* Battle of Cassano (27–28 Apr 1799)
* First Battle of Zurich (4–7 Jun 1799)
* Battle of Trebbia (17–20 Jun 1799)
* Battle of Novi (15 Aug 1799)
* Second Battle of Zurich (25–26 Sep 1799)

1800|

* Battle of Marengo (14 Jun 1800)
* Convention of Alessandria (15 Jun 1800)
* Battle of Hohenlinden (3 Dec 1800)
* League of Armed Neutrality (1800–02)

1801|

* Treaty of Lunéville (9 Feb 1801)
* Treaty of Florence (18 Mar 1801)
* Algeciras campaign (8 Jul 1801)

1802|

* Treaty of Amiens (25 Mar 1802)
* Treaty of Paris (25 Jun 1802)

Military leaders

France|

| French Army|

* Eustache Charles d'Aoust
* Pierre Augereau
* Alexandre de Beauharnais
* Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte
* Louis-Alexandre Berthier
* Jean-Baptiste Bessières
* Guillaume Brune
* Jean François Carteaux
* Jean-Étienne Championnet
* Chapuis de Tourville
* Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine
* Louis-Nicolas Davout
* Louis Desaix
* Jacques François Dugommier
* Thomas-Alexandre Dumas
* Charles François Dumouriez
* Pierre Marie Barthélemy Ferino
* Louis-Charles de Flers
* Paul Grenier
* Emmanuel de Grouchy
* Jacques Maurice Hatry
* Lazare Hoche
* Jean-Baptiste Jourdan
* François Christophe de Kellermann
* Jean-Baptiste Kléber
* Pierre Choderlos de Laclos
* Jean Lannes
* Charles Leclerc
* Claude Lecourbe
* François Joseph Lefebvre
* Étienne Macdonald
* Jean-Antoine Marbot
* Marcellin Marbot
* François Séverin Marceau
* Auguste de Marmont
* André Masséna
* Bon-Adrien Jeannot de Moncey
* Jean Victor Marie Moreau
* Édouard Mortier, Duke of Trévise
* Joachim Murat
* Michel Ney
* Pierre-Jacques Osten [fr]
* Nicolas Oudinot
* Catherine-Dominique de Pérignon
* Jean-Charles Pichegru
* Józef Poniatowski
* Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr
* Barthélemy Louis Joseph Schérer
* Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Sérurier
* Joseph Souham
* Jean-de-Dieu Soult
* Louis-Gabriel Suchet
* Belgrand de Vaubois
* Claude Victor-Perrin, Duc de Belluno

|

French Navy|

* Charles-Alexandre Linois

Opposition|

|  Austria|

* József Alvinczi
* Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen
* Count of Clerfayt (Walloon)
* Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg
* Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze (Swiss)
* Friedrich Adolf, Count von Kalckreuth
* Pál Kray (Hungarian)
* Charles Eugene, Prince of Lambesc (French)
* Maximilian Baillet de Latour (Walloon)
* Karl Mack von Leiberich
* Rudolf Ritter von Otto (Saxon)
* Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
* Peter Vitus von Quosdanovich
* Prince Heinrich XV of Reuss-Plauen
* Johann Mészáros von Szoboszló (Hungarian)
* Karl Philipp Sebottendorf
* Dagobert von Wurmser

|

Britain|

* Sir Ralph Abercromby
* James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez
* Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth
* Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany

Netherlands|

* William V, Prince of Orange

Prussia|

* Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick
* Frederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen

Russia|

* Alexander Korsakov
* Alexander Suvorov
* Andrei Rosenberg

Spain|

* Luis Firmin de Carvajal
* Antonio Ricardos

Other significant figures and factions

Patriotic Society of 1789|

* Jean Sylvain Bailly
* Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette
* François Alexandre Frédéric, duc de la Rochefoucauld-Liancourt
* Isaac René Guy le Chapelier
* Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau
* Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès
* Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
* Nicolas de Condorcet

Feuillants
and monarchiens

* Grace Elliott
* Arnaud de La Porte
* Jean-Sifrein Maury
* François-Marie, marquis de Barthélemy
* Guillaume-Mathieu Dumas
* Antoine Barnave
* Lafayette
* Alexandre-Théodore-Victor, comte de Lameth
* Charles Malo François Lameth
* André Chénier
* Jean-François Rewbell
* Camille Jordan
* Madame de Staël
* Boissy d'Anglas
* Jean-Charles Pichegru
* Pierre Paul Royer-Collard
* Bertrand Barère de Vieuzac

Girondins|

* Jacques Pierre Brissot
* Jean-Marie Roland de la Platière
* Madame Roland
* Father Henri Grégoire
* Étienne Clavière
* Marquis de Condorcet
* Charlotte Corday
* Marie Jean Hérault
* Jean Baptiste Treilhard
* Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud
* Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve
* Jean Debry
* Olympe de Gouges
* Jean-Baptiste Robert Lindet
* Louis Marie de La Révellière-Lépeaux

The Plain|

* Abbé Sieyès
* de Cambacérès
* Charles-François Lebrun
* Pierre-Joseph Cambon
* Bertrand Barère
* Lazare Nicolas Marguerite Carnot
* Philippe Égalité
* Louis Philippe I
* Mirabeau
* Antoine Christophe Merlin de Thionville
* Jean Joseph Mounier
* Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours
* François de Neufchâteau

Montagnards|

* Maximilien Robespierre
* Georges Danton
* Jean-Paul Marat
* Camille Desmoulins
* Louis Antoine de Saint-Just
* Paul Barras
* Louis Philippe I
* Louis Michel le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau
* Jacques-Louis David
* Marquis de Sade
* Georges Couthon
* Roger Ducos
* Jean-Marie Collot d'Herbois
* Jean-Henri Voulland
* Philippe-Antoine Merlin de Douai
* Antoine Quentin Fouquier-Tinville
* Philippe-François-Joseph Le Bas
* Marc-Guillaume Alexis Vadier
* Jean-Pierre-André Amar
* Prieur de la Côte-d'Or
* Prieur de la Marne
* Gilbert Romme
* Jean Bon Saint-André
* Jean-Lambert Tallien
* Pierre Louis Prieur
* Antoine Christophe Saliceti

Hébertists
and Enragés|

* Jacques Hébert
* Jacques-Nicolas Billaud-Varenne
* Pierre Gaspard Chaumette
* Charles-Philippe Ronsin
* Antoine-François Momoro
* François-Nicolas Vincent
* François Chabot
* Jean Baptiste Noël Bouchotte
* Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Gobel
* François Hanriot
* Jacques Roux
* Stanislas-Marie Maillard
* Charles-Philippe Ronsin
* Jean-François Varlet
* Theophile Leclerc
* Claire Lacombe
* Pauline Léon
* Gracchus Babeuf
* Sylvain Maréchal

Others|

| Figures|

* Charles X
* Louis XVI
* Louis XVII
* Louis XVIII
* Louis Antoine, Duke of Enghien
* Louis Henri, Prince of Condé
* Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé
* Marie Antoinette
* Napoléon Bonaparte
* Lucien Bonaparte
* Joseph Bonaparte
* Joseph Fesch
* Joséphine de Beauharnais
* Joachim Murat
* Jean Sylvain Bailly
* Jacques-Donatien Le Ray
* Guillaume-Chrétien de Malesherbes
* Talleyrand
* Thérésa Tallien
* Gui-Jean-Baptiste Target
* Catherine Théot
* Madame de Lamballe
* Madame du Barry
* Louis de Breteuil
* de Chateaubriand
* Jean Chouan
* Loménie de Brienne
* Charles Alexandre de Calonne
* Jacques Necker
* Jean-Jacques Duval d'Eprémesnil
* List of people associated with the French Revolution

|

Factions|

* Jacobins
* Cordeliers
* Panthéon Club
* Social Club

Influential thinkers

* Les Lumières
* Beaumarchais
* Edmund Burke
* Anacharsis Cloots
* Charles-Augustin de Coulomb
* Pierre Claude François Daunou
* Diderot
* Benjamin Franklin
* Thomas Jefferson
* Antoine Lavoisier
* Montesquieu
* Thomas Paine
* Jean-Jacques Rousseau
* Abbé Sieyès
* Voltaire
* Mary Wollstonecraft

Cultural impact

* La Marseillaise
* Cockade of France
* Flag of France
* Liberté, égalité, fraternité
* Marianne
* Bastille Day
* Panthéon
* French Republican calendar
* Metric system
* Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
* Cult of the Supreme Being
* Cult of Reason
* Temple of Reason
* Sans-culottes
* Phrygian cap
* Women in the French Revolution
* Incroyables and merveilleuses
* Symbolism in the French Revolution
* Historiography of the French Revolution
* Influence of the French Revolution
* Films

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* France
* BnF data
* Germany
* United States

People|

* Deutsche Biographie

Other|

* SNAC

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